Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Tuesday named Lorena
Escudero as defense minister days after her female predecessor's
death in a helicopter crash.
Escudero, 41, was a college professor.
The air crash occurred on Wednesday night after two helicopters
collided in mid-air near a military base in Manta, some 260 km
southeast of Quito, killing 50-year-old Guadalupe Larriva, her
17-year-old daughter and five army officers.
Larriva, who took office on Jan. 15, was the first woman defense
chief in Ecuador's history. She was a leader of the Socialist Party
that supports Correa.
Correa has ordered to carry out an international investigation
of the accident.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2007)
